If you were to poll marriage and family counseling experts about the essential features of a healthy relationship, what do you think they would say? Undoubtedly, communication would be in the top ten list, but why is that so? Our human connections are built on shared meanings and experiences of understanding one another.
When we have something to express and another person picks up that message, it makes us feel like we are not alone. In the best cases, this understanding can make us feel like we can trust that other person to respond to our needs. This basic feature of human security and connection rises and falls on communication. When a relationship expert is tasked with diagnosing problems, communication breakdown is often a first step in the analysis.
Many instances of miscommunication have to do with our interpersonal skills, but what if a bodily challenge were getting in the way? In the case of undiagnosed hearing loss, this possibility is a reality. When a person doesn’t have the treatment they need to work with the conditions of hearing loss, a wide range of communication failures can result. On the other hand, when a person gets treatment for hearing loss, relationships can improve remarkably. Let’s take a moment to consider the many ways that hearing loss treatment can improve your relationships.
Avoiding Life’s Frustrations
In a very basic sense, the struggle to communicate leads to frustrating encounters. Emotions can run high when a person doesn’t hear an intended question or important piece of information. On the other hand, if it feels like the family is not including you in important decisions or events, then you can become frustrated with your inability to contribute. In practical ways, when a person receives treatment for hearing loss, these frustrations can be reduced or avoided altogether. Rather than missing questions and everyday updates or pieces of information, the relationship can proceed naturally and easily once again.
Sharing Your Inner World
In addition to relieving the everyday struggles caused by miscommunication due to hearing loss, treatment also makes it possible to share your feelings, insights, and perspective with others. When the lines of communication are full of obstacles, it can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Treatment makes it possible to hear the questions others ask and to respond with a glimpse into your inner world. Making this available to others builds trust, connection and feelings of support.
Understanding Others’ Perspectives
Not only does hearing loss treatment make you better able to share what goes on in your heart and mind, but it also enables you to accept the disclosure and expression of emotion and perspective from others. As we know, good communication is a two-way street, and your ability to hear what others have to say opens the path for a free exchange between the two of you. When others are able to tell you about their lives, feelings, and experiences, it builds trust in you and can open the door for your relationship to strengthen more generally.
Seeking Treatment
The benefits for your relationships are yet another reason to seek treatment for hearing loss right away. Not only can hearing loss treatment make your everyday life easier as you move through the world, but it can also build a bridge between you and those you love most in the world. The sounding world will unfold around you, offering all the delights of your sonic environment, but the ability to share those experiences of beauty is half the pleasure we take in them.
If you are ready to seek treatment, the first step is simple. Contacting us for a hearing test only takes a moment, but you will be embarking on a journey toward stronger communication with those in your immediate life and your broader community. The features of the latest hearing aids have advanced far beyond the models of just a few years ago, and you might be surprised at what they can offer you in public areas and private conversations. Your family, friends, and loved ones will relish the opportunity to reconnect with you when you establish a free flow of communication once again!